Qué grande eres, Cañizares - por Juan Manuel de Prada

In ReligiónenLibertad

Ha levantado gran polvareda un artículo publicado por el cardenal Cañizares en el L´Osservatore Romano, en el que se atreve a… ¡Oh, cielos! ¿Seré capaz de decirlo? No, no se atreve Cañizares a convocar una guerra santa, ni a identificar al Anticristo, ni siquiera a reclamar la unión entre trono y altar. A lo que se atreve Cañizares es a proponer que sea restablecido el decreto Quam singulari, de San Pío X, en el que se fija la edad de siete años como idónea para recibir el sacramento de la Eucaristía. En las últimas décadas, por influjo de las corrientes modernistas infiltradas en el seno de la propia Iglesia, y con el aplauso y regocijo de quienes anhelan —lobos disfrazados de corderos— su destrucción, se ha introducido el hábito nefasto de retrasar la edad de la Primera Comunión. En su artículo, Cañizares apunta incluso que las actuales circunstancias familiares y sociales, tan adversas para la inocencia del niño, antes aconsejarían adelantar esa edad que retrasarla. Y esto, en fin, es lo que ha provocado indignación entre los enemigos de la Iglesia, que se las prometían muy felices, después de haber logrado vaciar de significado la Eucaristía, siempre —por supuesto— con el apoyo de los inefables «tontos útiles» que confunden la naturaleza de los sacramentos.

Porque los sacramentos no se reciben en reconocimiento de unos méritos personales; son acción de la gracia divina. Y la gracia divina no exige, como demandan ciertos «tontos útiles» a quienes los enemigos de la Iglesia prestan altavoz, «personalización e interiorización de la fe»; esto es jansenismo de la peor calaña, soberbia presuntuosa que pretende convertir el regalo de la Salvación en una suerte de postulación de méritos, como si los sacramentos fuesen oposiciones a un cuerpo administrativo. Y esta infiltración jansenista, que pretende desenraizar la fe de su fuente y aislarla de su medio natural (fe que viene de lo alto, fe que se encarna y realiza comunitariamente), es la que, en efecto, ha triunfado en las últimas décadas, jaleada por los enemigos de la Iglesia, que contemplan jubilosos como las Primeras Comuniones se han convertido en mascaradas en las que, si acaso, el único que conserva la fe (una fe originaria y primaveral, pura en la plena acepción de la palabra) es el niño que recibe a Cristo bajo las especies de pan y vino. Para que ese niño participe también de la mascarada conviene que se retrase la edad de la Comunión, conviene que el niño esté suficientemente corrompido por el clima ambiental, conviene que haya recibido sus buenas clases de «educación sexual» en la escuela, conviene que haya asimilado toda la alfalfa progre que se le inocula a través de la tele, conviene que haya comprobado cómo sus papás viven amancebados tan ricamente y apostatan de la fe de sus mayores. Conviene, en fin, que el niño acuda al sacramento con la inocencia hecha unos zorros, con la fe reducida a escombros o siquiera esclerotizada y rutinizada, y a ser posible con un condón en el bolsillo de la chaqueta de marinerito.

Porque, claro, cuanto más pequeño sea el niño más posibilidades hay —¡menudo escándalo!— de que comulgue creyendo en la naturaleza del sacramento, creyendo que de verdad Cristo viene a vivificar su fe para siempre. Y esto es lo que los enemigos de la Iglesia pretenden evitar a toda costa, con la ayuda de los tontos útiles que han introducido el microbio jansenista en el seno de la Iglesia. Qué grande eres, Cañizares.

www.juanmanueldeprada.com

A Marriage Tail - by Stephen J. Heaney

In The public dicourse

August 13, 2010
Re-examining the essential characteristics of marriage.

Abraham Lincoln once asked how many legs a dog has if we call a tail a leg. The answer, he said, is four: calling a tail a leg does not make it so. We chuckle and move on.

But what if people began to argue that a tail really is a leg? They might say that what defines the leg is that it is an appendage of the dog’s body, that it contains bone and muscle covered with skin and fur—just like a tail. Tails just happen to come out of the body at a different angle than other legs. When a tail hangs down low, who can tell the difference?

This is an example of defining a thing according to non-essential characteristics. It is like saying that a soldier is “a man who wears a uniform and carries a gun,” or calling a football stadium “a field surrounded by lots of seats.” It may be true in each case, but fails to tell the story.

To continue the figure, the bones and muscle of a leg are different from the tail. They have to support the dog and make it possible to run and jump. No matter how well the dog can wag its tail, it will not propel it anywhere. The issue, then, is not that the leg has bones and muscles, but how they are put together, and why. A tail is not a leg, because it is impossible for it to function as one.

Some may respond that there are legs on many dogs that cannot propel the dog anywhere. They have broken bones, or withered muscle, or have lost the foot in an accident. If not all legs can propel the animal forward, then this ability is not an essential characteristic of a leg. If lame legs are legs, so is a tail.

But a wounded leg is still a leg. Repair it, and it will function as one. If it cannot be repaired, this fact does not change the kind of thing it is. It is a leg, though damaged. The tail remains a tail.

The call for same-sex marriage involves a similar misdefinition. Marriage is often characterized today as follows: 1) two people 2) who love each other 3) want to perform sexual acts together, so 4) they consent to combine their lives sexually, materially, economically 5) with the endorsement of the community. Since same-sex couples can meet the first four criteria, how can society refuse the fifth? Read more

La hipocresía y los curas de Roma

In La Iglesia en la prensa

Desde un punto de vista periodístico, resultan interesantes los casos de personas que no hacen lo que deberían hacer, que son lo contrario de lo que aparentan, que predican lo que no cumplen. Al desvelar esa hipocresía, la prensa siente que satisface parte de la función social que se espera de ella. El problema está cuando se transmite la impresión de que esos casos son una fotografía de todo un conjunto: presentar a un juez corrupto dando a entender que prácticamente todos los jueces son corruptos.

Esta introducción viene a cuento porque tengo la impresión de que algo de esto está ocurriendo desde hace tiempo con los sacerdotes, y no solo por los casos de pederastia. El interés de la prensa ha ido hacia otros ámbitos. Por ejemplo, hace unas semanas, el semanario italiano Panorama publicaba su reportaje de portada sobre “las noches bravas de los curas gays”. Era un relato deprimente sobre tres tipos homosexuales identificados como curas (el tercero, no muy claro) y remolcados gracias al cómplice homosexual del periodista que escribe la “investigación” oculta. De ese reportaje se hace eco Newsweek, el cual, entre varias cosas muy sensatas ofrece la impresión de que Roma está poblada por curas gays.

Espero y deseo con toda el alma que la “operación limpieza” de Benedicto XVI lleve a que accedan al sacerdocio solo las personas idóneas. Y las que no lo son, que se vayan. Soy consciente de que hay mucho lastre que soltar e hipocresías que superar. Y de que en varios sitios se ha incluso fomentado la presencia de homosexuales en seminarios. Todo estos es cierto y supone un gran desafío. Al mismo tiempo, creo que es preciso decir una vez más que, por fortuna, eso no es lo normal. Roma no está poblada por curas gays, a pesar de que haya gente interesada en presentarla así.

They are coming for our adolescent daughters…

They are coming for our adolescent daughters…

Help me stop them…

August 11, 2010

Dear Friday Fax Reader,

Sorry for this long letter, but I am angry, as angry as I have ever been in this job.

Our Friday Fax team of UN watchers has uncovered an alarming new scheme to advance the global abortion movement, a scheme aimed specifically at adolescent girls.

The United Nations – especially the notorious United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) – is preparing a massive worldwide campaign to indoctrinate young girls in favor of abortion and an anti-Catholic agenda.

This campaign is being pushed by abortion groups, radical feminists and anti-family secularists in the name of “empowering youth.”

As you know, the Friday Fax was founded and exists to fight UN threats to life and family. We exist to act as an “early warning system” for Christians worldwide. It’s our job to sound the alarm about the many threats coming from the UN and other international organizations.

Threats to life. Threats to family. Threats to our moral values and the freedom to practice our Faith as Christians around the world.

In 13 years of UN-watching, I can’t think of a single threat more serious than this scheme of indoctrinating and programming the world’s youth to reject Christianity, parental authority, and the sanctity and dignity of life.

But that’s exactly what’s happening. And why I need your help ... and the help of every single C-FAM supporter if we are to prevail against this latest threat to life and families around the world.

Here’s the situation.

Right now, in the last few days the UN has kicked off the “International Year of Youth” which will last until the end of 2011.

As a lead-up event, the government of Mexico is hosting a World Conference on Youth in León, Guanajuato, Mexico, from August 23 to 27 –- just a few days from now.

This Mexican conference has the backing of the UN and the support of several powerful UN agencies, including:

• The UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
• The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
• The UN Development Program (UNDP)
• The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

As you know, all these UN agencies have been part of the UN anti-life agenda. But none is more militantly pro-abortion, more dangerous to unborn babies around the world than the UNFPA.

The Friday Fax has learned that UNFPA is even paying for the flights of “select participants” to the youth conference in Mexico.

What’s more, we’ve come into possession of a secretly produced document that governments will be expected to endorse at this gathering.

This document strikes right at the heart of the parent-child bond. It demands radical and complete autonomy for young people, separate from their parents. The document doesn’t even use the hated word “parent.” UN member countries, including the Holy See, will be expected to endorse this grotesque anti-family manifesto.

In short, this coming year long effort to undermine the morality of our young people is the biggest threat we have uncovered in the thirteen years we have been defending life, faith and family at the UN.

This will be the biggest, most dangerous UN conference since the Cairo Conference on Population in 1994 and the Beijing Women’s Conference in 1995. The UN wants the world to see this new conference as truly representative of the world’s youth.

Here is what I am going to do but I need your help.

I am going to:

• Send a Friday Fax team to Mexico to get inside the governmental negotiations.
• Gather an army of young Christian law students to come to New York when the meeting convenes at UN headquarters this fall.
• Send the same group of committed pro-lifers to other meetings related to this conference all over the world.
• Commit the Friday Fax team to digging out this story for an entire year.
• Host regular conference calls for the global pro-life community to plot strategy (we have already held two such meetings).

The problem we face right now is that this brand new global threat was sprung on the UN community without warning only a few weeks ago. They kept this thing very much under wraps. They like their secrets.

Frankly, a mission of this magnitude will cripple our budget. Moreover, we are experiencing the usual summer downturn in fundraising made even worse due to the worldwide recession.

Right at the moment we are needed most, is the time we can least afford to mount this kind of effort.

Unless you help right now.

I am issuing this two-week emergency appeal to raise $50,000 to offset Friday Fax expenses related to this massive and frightening attack on our adolescent children.

This money will cover our usual expenses to produce the Friday Fax, which is the only weekly source of pro-life and pro-family news coming out of UN headquarters in New York.

As you are aware, the Friday Fax costs upwards of $200,000 to produce each year. This includes our usual expenses: salaries, rent, email expenses (which are massive: email is not free when you email a million a month!), plus costs for producing a snail mail edition of the Friday Fax.

But, with this new threat, we have new one time expenses:

• Travel expenses to Mexico, New York and maybe even to Africa for me, my staff and our Edmund Burke Fellows (we always travel economy class, but the bills are still hefty)
• Hotel bills (we always stay in budget hotels, but it all adds up)
• The cost of sending out 1.6 million emails to generate signatures for our Youth Statement to the World
• Fees we’ll pay to our expert public relations firm to get the word out globally
• The costs of news conferences in New York, Mexico and Africa to expose the UN’s evil deeds to millions
• Renting meeting space (our tiny office isn’t big enough to hold everyone we plan to bring to Mexico and New York)
• A new Website we’re launching called “Youth Under Siege” that will monitor and expose the schemes to corrupt the world’s young girls (and boys)

I haven’t been so charged-up and angry about a UN conference in years! After all, they’re coming for our Catholic daughters. Now that I have two daughters, 5 and 2, I know what this means. I vow these people WILL NOT GET THEIR HANDS ON OUR DAUGHTERS.

Go HERE right now and give as much as you can to help the Friday Fax defend our daughters against the truly Satanic agenda to undermine their morals and even threaten their lives (deadly sexual diseases are rampant among young people who take UNFPA’s advice).

Go HERE right now and give as much as you can. You can give using your credit card on our totally secure server. Or you can use PayPal. Or you can mail a check to us to:

Friday Fax Fund Drive
C-FAM
1100 G Street NW
Suite 450
Washington DC 20005

Let me just close by saying I promise I will stoke my righteous anger all year long. My staff and I are totally committed to fighting this new conference over the next 12 months. We will continue to report to you what is going on and we will be there on the front lines every step of the way.

They will not get our daughters.

Yours sincerely,


Austin Ruse
Editor
Friday Fax

www.c-fam.org

«Pasé de ser un activista gay a pastor presbiteriano, casado y con hijos»

«Aunque sentir atracción por personas del mismo sexo quizá no sea una elección, actuar sobre esos sentimientos sí lo es», explica Tim Walkins, activista gay en sus años de juventud y hoy pastor presbiteriano casado y con tres hijos. «Salir de la homosexualidad es posible a través de Jesucristo», asegura.

Walkins defendió esta postura en el campus de la Universidad de Milwaukee (Wisconsin, EE UU) el pasado jueves, e intentó así dar una respuesta cristiana a la cuestión de la homosexualidad. Cuando cursaba secundaria, pensar en la heterosexualidad le «asqueaba». «Yo no elegí sentirme atraído por mi mismo sexo. Uno de los misterios de la vida es precisamente éste: que uno no puede elegir aquello por lo que es tentado», explicó. Leer más

Oscar Wilde, escritor homosexual, abrazó el catolicismo tras pasar por la cárcel, afirma su biógrafo

Oscar Wilde vivió los últimos años de su vida como un paria. Tras pasar dos años en la cárcel de Reading, la sociedad puritana que había reído sus gracias le dio totalmente la espalda. Acosado y sin apenas amigos, Wilde se retiró a París. Allí murió en una buhardilla, enfermo y acosado por las deudas. La suya habría sido la muerte de un infeliz de no ser porque poco antes de expirar le administraron el bautismo y la unción de los enfermos. La pregunta que surge ante semejante decisión es clara: ¿Tuvo ese último acto algo que ver con su vida? Leer más

Priest Says it is "a Most Grievous Sin" to Fail to Oppose the Homosexual Agenda

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

EL PASO, Texas, August 3, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Texas priest, writing as a guest columnist in the El Paso Times, has unequivocally come down on the side of the "precious and infallible teachings of Holy Mother Church" that affirms the dignity of human life at all stages and upholds the true meaning of marriage.

Fr. Michael Rodríguez, parish priest at San Juan Bautista Catholic Church, told readers that "a Catholic would be guilty of a most grievous sin of omission if he/she neglected to actively oppose the homosexual agenda."

"I sincerely hope and pray," Fr. Rodríguez wrote, "that all El Paso Catholics will take to heart the precious and infallible teachings of Holy Mother Church in the moral sphere, particularly those most relevant to our city at this critical juncture."

Fr. Rodríguez pointed out that "Every single Catholic, out of fidelity to charity and truth, has the absolute duty to oppose (1) the murder of unborn babies, and (2) any and all government attempts to legalize homosexual unions."

He also reminded readers that the homosexual agenda "thrives on deception and conceals its wicked horns under the guises of ‘equal rights,’ ‘tolerance,’ ‘who am I to judge?,’ etc."

Fr. Rodriguez quoted the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ November 2009 pastoral letter on marriage, noting it was endorsed by the Bishop of El Paso, Most Rev. Armando X. Ochoa.

The pastoral letter explains: "It is not unjust to oppose legal recognition of same-sex unions, because marriage and same-sex unions are essentially different realities. The denial of the social and legal status of marriage to forms of cohabitation that are not and cannot be marital is not opposed to justice; on the contrary, justice requires it."

Addressing the intrinsic moral value of actions, Fr. Rodríguez noted that the objective moral order established by God is the essence of what makes something right or wrong, and this objective truth, known in philosophy as natural law, does not depend on the opinion of the majority.

"While it's true that a majority of the citizens in a democracy has the political power to impose its ‘morality’ on society, this juridical reality has no bearing whatsoever on the intrinsic moral value of actions."

"Abortion and homosexual acts are unequivocally intrinsic moral evils," Fr. Rodríguez concluded. "And friends, this objective truth doesn't depend on the opinion of the majority. Frighteningly, if the majority chooses to deny the objective moral order, then we will all suffer the pestiferous consequences."

"I urge all of the Catholic faithful to treat homosexuals with love, understanding, and respect," Fr. Rodríguez wrote.

"At the same time, never forget that genuine love demands that we seek, above all, the salvation of souls. Homosexual acts lead to the damnation of souls."

Prominent Lutheran Pastor: Yes, I Struggle with Same-Sex Attraction

By Peter J. Smith

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, August 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Rev. Tom Brock is a senior pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis who recently became the center of a controversy after his personal struggles with same-sex attraction were made public. Earlier in June, an undercover journalist with the Minnesota-based homosexual publication “Lavender” infiltrated and exposed Brock's attendance at a local chapter of Courage, a Catholic-run, prayer-based support group for men struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions.

Brock, 57 years old and a virgin by his own admission, says that he has never engaged in homosexual behavior. A two-week investigation by his church, a member of the conservative Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, confirmed that no evidence exists to the contrary.

“Lavender” admitted they did the story to discredit Brock, who has been outspoken in his defense of traditional marriage and who has criticized the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for allowing individuals in active homosexual relationships to serve as clergy.

Brock returned to his pulpit at Hope Lutheran Church last Sunday for the first time since he was put on administrative leave while the church’s task force conducted its inquiry. He was welcomed back with a standing ovation.

Now in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com (LSN), Brock speaks about the public controversy, his ministry, his personal cross of same-sex attraction, his desire to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and the Bible’s teachings, and the forgiveness of one’s enemies. But most importantly, he tells LSN that his ordeal has strengthened his witness to the hope, healing, and forgiveness that all people can find in Christ.

The following is the transcript of that interview:

LSN: How many years have you been senior pastor at Hope Lutheran Church?

Brock: Twenty-one years. And I was seven years an associate pastor before that; so I’ve been at this church 28 years.

LSN: Have you always been a Christian?

Brock: I’ve been a Christian – Let’s put it this way, I think I was a Christian as a child, but it became real good when I was in college. I became much more committed in college.

LSN: What inspired you to follow Christ’s calling in the Lutheran Church?

Brock: Actually, I played around with becoming a Baptist pastor, but then I discovered some Lutheran churches that were as fired up as any Baptist church. I discovered you can be an Evangelical and a Lutheran at the same time, so I decided to stay.

LSN: Now you’ve said that you struggle with same-sex attraction, but that does not make one a homosexual? Can you elaborate on that a little bit?

Brock: I think the myth of our culture for the last 15 years or so has been that God makes you gay, you’re born gay, and even God won’t change that or can’t change that. And I do think that’s a myth – and I could be wrong on this, but I don’t think I am – my belief is that we are all born heterosexual, and that something early in life goes wrong.

A psychiatrist who’s worked with hundreds – if not thousands, I can’t remember what he said – but he said he’s never met one client who when he was a little boy had a close relationship with his father. Not that he couldn’t later in life. But of all the men that he’s treated for this, the big link is when they were real little, like two, three, or four years old, there was a breakdown with the same-sex parent.

Now that said, if indeed they ever find a ‘gay gene’ and it turns out to be genetic, it really still doesn’t change anything. If you believe in Original Sin, that we are all born sinners, and it all comes out in different ways in different lives, it really doesn’t change anything. There are people with criminal tendencies from birth, perhaps, but it doesn’t give them a right to rob a bank.

LSN: As a note, Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes for Health, did a lot of research with genes and cracking the human genome, but has also said that just because you have a gene for something, does not necessarily mean that you will end up a certain way.

Brock: Whether it’s nature or nurture – I believe it is a nurture thing – it really doesn’t ultimately matter. The Bible says you don’t do this, so I don’t.

LSN: What prompted you to seek out a group like Courage?

Brock: It’s a battle for me – still is a battle – this same sex attraction stuff. We all need our Christian brothers and sisters. As a pastor, I preach to my congregation that every Christian should have a prayer-partner that holds them accountable, prays for them in their struggles, etc. But that was my way of making myself accountable to the church.

LSN: How exactly would you describe the Courage meeting? Was it beneficial, what was your perspective?

Brock: [Laughter] Well, I would sit through the “Hail Marys” – which I didn’t totally agree with – but once the meeting got started, we would pray, we would counsel each other on purity, and basically talk about our lives. A lot of the meeting really did not have to do with this struggle per se, but it was people talking about where their lives are at this week, and their stresses, and that can sometimes be related to this struggle. But it was a confidentiality group, and across the country there are these Catholic groups called Courage, and there is also Exodus International. There are all kinds of groups for Evangelical Protestants and Catholics around the country.

LSN: So you believe that groups like these are beneficial to people dealing with same-sex attractions because it provides them with a sense of community and a prayerful support group?

Brock: Yep, that’s accurate.

LSN: So although you struggle with same-sex attraction, you’ve taken a very public stand against homosexual behavior and same-sex “marriage”?

Brock: Yes.

LSN: Now your opponents would like to paint you as a hypocrite, but you see it differently?

Brock: Yes. I just got off the radio with a more liberal interviewer, and he raised that issue, “Well, aren’t you being a hypocrite.” And I said, “Well, wait a minute. I’ve publically taken a stand against gay ‘marriage’ and I do publically preach what the Bible teaches on this issue. Privately I struggle with it, but by the grace of God, I say no to it and I fight it. Where’s the hypocrisy?” That was my response.

I mean if I was having a gay boyfriend, and engaging in sex, that would be a whole different story. To a degree, we’re all hypocrites; nobody lives perfectly the way they should in every single moment. So I’m not saying that I don’t have my sins or my problems. But it is kinda like someone who has a problem with drinking, and they fight it, and they are sober for twenty years. Can’t they still say to other kids, “Please beware of alcohol”? I think they can.

LSN: What message do you think people should take away from this “controversy” – for lack of a better word – being in the news?

Brock: Well after this story broke, a guy from my Catholic support group called me, and he said, “The one thing that the homosexual community never hears from a conservative Christian is, ‘I have this struggle, you can have this struggle, say ‘no’ to it and still follow Jesus.” He thought that I would have now even more credibility to speak to that issue, that it would be kind of a new message now to come out of this.

LSN: So would you agree that this whole public spotlight has heightened your witness for Christ for other people?

Brock: That’s the way God is turning this. I’ll tell you what I think happened. Back in February, I was asked to speak against same-sex “marriage” at the state senate in Minnesota. I’m guessing on this, but I’m pretty sure this is what happened: I walked into the room, and here is a person that used to go to my group, who left it and was now living in the homosexual lifestyle. He was sitting there with his boyfriend. I was kind of thinking to myself, “Uh oh, do I still make my speech? Is he going to get up and scream? What’s going to happen?” And I thought, “Yep, I’m going to make my speech, and if I die, I die,” as it says in the book of Esther. I’m virtually certain - I can’t prove it - but I think he’s the guy who went to this magazine and said, “You know you can get him if you go here.”

LSN: So what are your own personal feelings toward this person and to the gay journalist who essentially tried to destroy you and your reputation?

Brock: I have forgiven them, and I did do that immediately. I mean this thing is horrible, and I know if I don’t forgive it will eat me up more. Plus, we’re commanded, that if you don’t forgive, God the Father won’t forgive you, said Jesus. So I think by the grace of God, on that one I did okay.

LSN: That is admirable. Forgiveness is something which a lot of Christians struggle with every day.

Brock: And I can too. For some reason, this thing has been such an ordeal, I have been thinking of so many other things than the people that did this, like, “How are we going to glorify God through this mess, etc.,” and other things, that I haven’t had a whole lot of time to think about these people. I do pray for them, because from my point of view they hold a view of homosexuality that is so awful. So I do pray for them, I have forgiven them, and I hope they come to Christ.

LSN: How has your church responded?

Brock: They’ve been absolutely wonderful. I just can’t tell you. I come from a very conservative church that virtually everybody believes that homosexual behavior is a sin. They’ve been so wonderful, they’ve just been so supportive. They gave me a standing ovation on Sunday when I spoke, so it’s been great.

LSN: Do you still attend Courage meetings or do you do something else?

Brock: For now, anyway, I’m not. I will still be a part of an accountability group and have my prayer partners, etc. That is my plan.

LSN: But overall, you found groups like that helpful to those individuals?

Brock: Absolutely. I think – again no matter what your sin is - every Christian has something they struggle with. Which is why I think every Christian needs a support group or at least a prayer partner.

LSN: What is the next step for your ministry?

Brock: Before this whole thing broke, I’ve been pastor there for 28 years, and I was thinking it’s probably time for a change. It was heavy in my mind before this thing broke, and then this thing happened. So everything’s been on hold. But we have a radio and TV show, and we now have enough money to expand the TV show nationally. So here is the plan – none of this is for sure yet, everything is being worked out – but the plan is for me to come back to my church, but not be the senior pastor, and to now direct my attention to expanding the radio and TV ministries. That’s the plan and we’ll see how that develops.

LSN: What’s the name of your radio and TV ministries?

Brock: It’s called “The Pastor’s Study.” We’re on local 980 AM. You can also just go to KKS.com and do live-streaming on Saturday’s at 11 a.m. central standard time or Sunday’s at 3 a.m., central standard time. And then the TV show is on all the cable systems of the Twin Cities, but we’re not national yet.

LSN: Well, thank you Pastor Brock for this interview. That concludes my questions, but would you have any final thought or comment that you’d like to impart to our readers?

Brock: Well, you know, I’ll tell you. Two things to say: Everybody in this culture is starting to believe that there is nothing wrong with [homosexual behavior]. But 1 Corinthians 6: 9 – 11 says that if you persist in impenitent sin, you don’t go to heaven. So it’s rather huge that people know, yes this is wrong, and even your eternity could be at stake. But the second thing to say to people who struggle with this, “Look, I struggle with it too, but there is forgiveness with Christ, there is hope, there is healing, and even if you battle with it ‘til the day you die, as long as you’re trusting in Christ and following Him, there’s hope.”

Opinion: The APA's Biased Paper on Same-Sex Attraction and Therapy

Dale O’Leary

August 3, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The debate over therapy for same-sex attraction (SSA) and gender identity disorder (GID) has been going on for years. Recently, the APA put out a paper designed to resolve the issue. However, the introduction of the APA’s Task Force Report on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation defines the parameters for the discussion in such a way that the defenders of therapy for SSA and GID are positioned in the worst possible light. The issue is essentially decided in favor of gay-affirming therapy before the evidence is heard.

According to the introduction of the paper: “We see this multiculturally competent and affirmative approach as grounded in an acceptance of the following scientific facts.”

This is followed by five supposedly scientific facts that are presented for acceptance as the foundation for discussion. However, the five points are not universally accepted facts based on uncontroverted scientific evidence, but biased statements that obscure the facts. Here are the five so-called facts and the concerns they raise.

1) Same-sex sexual attractions, behavior, and orientations per se are normal and positive variants of human sexuality—in other words, they do not indicate either mental or developmental disorders.

The use the term "per se" confuses the issue. It is true that same-sex sexual attractions, behavior, and orientations are not in and of themselves (per se) indicative of anything. Given the variety of human behavior and attractions in different cultures, throughout history, and among the variety of mankind, nothing can be said about all persons with same-sex attraction, everyone who engages in same-sex behavior, or claims a particular sexual orientation. However, there is substantial evidence that same-sex attraction is a sequel of disturbed early childhood, in particular a failure to achieve a secure attachment to the mother1 and a failure to identify with the same sex parent and peers2. There is also evidence that persons with SSA are more likely to have been victims of childhood abuse,3 including sexual abuse,4 or other exposure to age inappropriate experiences. A number of well designed large sample studies have found that persons with SSA are more likely to suffer from psychological disorders, substance abuse problems,5 and suicidal ideation.6 Men who have sex with men are at high risk for contracting an STD, including HIV.7 While not every persons with SSA falls into these categories, a significant percentage do. There is on the other hand no replicated evidence that SSA is genetically or congenitally predetermined and therefore a natural and unchangeable variant.8 Therefore, it can be argued that there is evidence that SSA in some cases (or some might argue in most cases) is associated with a psychological or developmental disorder.

2) Homosexuality and bisexuality are stigmatized, and this stigma can have a variety of negative consequences (e.g., minority stress) throughout the life span.

Sexual acts between two persons of the same sex, along with adultery, fornication, and sexual paraphilias, are condemned by a number of religions as always contrary to God’s law. Since these religions are based on unchangeable revelation, these doctrines cannot be altered. Therefore, engaging in same-sex relations will always be considered by some as unacceptable. Love and compassion for those who struggle with temptation does not require acceptance of these behaviors. Freedom of religion protects the right of persons, who believe that homosexual acts are always wrong, to state their belief publicly and teach this conviction to their children without fear of discrimination. Such convictions are not bigoted, discriminatory, homophobic, or hate speech.

It is true that the realization that a significant portion of the community believes that a person’s behavior is not acceptable may make that person feel bad. Persons engaging in homosexual behavior may wish to silence those who disapprove. They may wish to have their behavior universally accepted; but so long as people have freedom of religion this situation will not change.

3) Same-sex sexual attractions and behavior occur in the context of a variety of sexual orientations and sexual orientation identities, and for some, sexual orientation identity (i.e., individual or group membership and affiliation, self-labeling) is fluid or has an indefinite outcome.

Gay activists would have us believe that SSA is a normal, and unchangeable variant, but numerous studies have found that SSA is fluid.9 If as the evidence shows it is possible for SSA and behavior to change spontaneously, then why can’t a person seek psychological therapy or spiritual counseling to affect a change in SSA or behavior?10

4) Gay men, lesbians, and bisexual individuals form stable, committed relationships and families that are equivalent to heterosexual relationships and families in essential respects.

Same sex relationships differ in many essential aspects from a marriage between a man and a woman. Two persons of the same sex cannot consummate a marriage - the one and only act that joins a man and a woman as one flesh. They cannot conceive a child that is the fruit of their union and their joint biological offspring. Every child acquired by a same-sex couple has been separated from one or both biological parents. Such a separation is perceived by the child as a loss. Every child raised by a same-sex couple lacks a parent of one or the other sex. Two persons of the same sex lack the psychological and emotional complementarity that is part of a husband and wife union. Finally, it is interesting to note that exclusivity is not considered essential for male couples.11

5) Some individuals choose to live their lives in accordance with personal or religious values (e.g., telic congruence).

Some individuals not only choose to live their lives according to God’s revealed law, but also believe that since truths of revelation and the truths discovered by science come from the same source, when both are properly understood they will agree. The term "values" degrades this belief into mere personal opinion; one person "values" one thing, another "values" something else. Those who believe in the congruence of revelation and science, reject this kind of relativism. They hold that it is possible through revelation and science to approach truth and that certain opinions are simply wrong. However, they respect the right of those who oppose them to be wrong and to defend their beliefs. While gay activists demand universal acceptance and affirmation for themselves, they use every method within their grasp to silence and marginalize those who disagree with them.

Those who defend therapy for adults with unwanted SSA and children with GID must make it clear that they do not accept the pseudo scientific facts proposed by the Task Force.

For references click here.